Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Jesus sent us to all nations—to all the streets in all the world (Luke 24:47-49; Acts 1:8). We are to begin in Jerusalem and move outward. As we have seen, Jerusalem is like out Main Street, where there are more similarities than differences between us and the people to whom we are taking the Good News of Jesus. Judea is our Lombard Street & Rodeo Drive, where we are starting to see more differences.
Then we move to Samaria where there are now way more differences than similarities. But still, let’s never forget that Jesus sent us and the Holy Spirit empowers us to be effective in our witness on every street—even those with whom we have very little in common.
Jesus was baptizing in the Judean countryside (John 3:22) and now He is heading back to Galilee. “The shortest route from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north went through Samaria. The journey took three days if one wanted to travel the direct route. The Jews often avoided Samaria by going around it along the Jordan River. The hatred between the Jews and Samaritans went back to the days of the exile” (Dr. Henry Halley).
There were wide differences between Jesus and this woman of Sychar:
Cultural differences—The Jews considered the Samaritans to be no longer “pure” Jews, but half-breeds and traitors (vv. 5-9).
Personal differences—She was female, Jesus was male; she was a divorcée, Jesus was single (vv. 9, 16-18).
Religious differences—The Samaritans only recognized the Pentateuch; the Jews recognized the entire Old Testament Scripture. And the Samaritans saw Mt. Gerizim as the center of worship and the place the Messiah would reign; the Jews believed Jerusalem to be the center of worship (vv. 19-20).
Our first task is to find common ground with whoever we can. Jesus used the word “whoever” three times in John 3:16, 18, 36, saying that whoever believed in Him would have eternal life. We need to have this same mindset. It’s not His desire that any should perish—not even the Samaritans!—but that all should come to know Him as Savior.
In his book Winning With People, John Maxwell presents The 101% Principle: Find the 1% we can agree upon and give that 100% of your effort.
Jesus found the 1% and gave 100% to it. For He and this Samaritan woman their common connection was water and worship (John 4:9-15, 21-26). Jesus used both of those things to open a conversation about eternal matters.
Who are the Samaritans in my life? They are people…
…I have very little in common with
…I go out of my way to avoid talking to
…I think are never going to “get it”
…who make me angry, defensive, or combative
But they are also people…
…for whom Jesus died
…who are dearly loved by our Heavenly Father
…who need to hear the Gospel
…to whom I have been sent
Our prayer should be this:
Holy Spirit, help me to notice the people to whom I have been blind or whom I have been avoiding. Help me to find the 1% on which we can agree, and then empower me to give 100% of my effort to that 1%. I want my heart to beat with the heart of my Savior: Whoever believes on Him will not perish but will have eternal life.
Shepherd leaders do know the voice of their sheep, and the sheep know the voice of their shepherd. Leaders, this is the value of regularly being around all the people on your team. Check out this full conversation Greg and I had on our leadership podcast. This idea is central to my book Shepherd Leadership.
I have lots of new content every week, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
“Alice Reynolds Flower (1890-1991), the wife of [Assembly of God] pioneer J. Roswell Flower, is a shining example of motherhood. Affectionately known as ‘Mother Flower,’ she preached, taught Sunday School, led prayer meetings, wrote articles, penned poetry, authored books, and lived a godly example in front of her six children and everyone she came in contact with. As Mother’s Day approaches, it is good to consider an article that Mother Flower wrote for the Pentecostal Evangel in May 1952.” Check out Alice Flowers’ article here.
Kenneth Blanchard discusses when it is and isn’t a good time for a leader to be a micromanager. He concludes this insightful post by saying, “The best leaders know how to continually adjust their leadership style to fit each situation, helping to develop individuals who will ultimately achieve each goal and perform well on each task with little direction or support.”
“The pre-Flood world had some truly massive dinosaurs, and the largest of them were in the group Sauropodomorpha. Within this group were titanosaurs, which include the gigantic Argentinosaurus that is estimated to have weighed over 100 tons.” Read more about titanosaurs here.
What is it about morality that points humans higher and higher to find the Source? J. Warner Wallace, in this video based on his book God’s Crime Scene, makes the case that objective, transcendent morality is good proof for God. This reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ similar argument: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such a violent reaction against it?”
Pastors, listen to this call to revival from the pen of Jonathan Edwards. Let us seek in prayer for a revival in our day! “The Scripture gives us great reason to think, that when once there comes to appear much of a spirit of prayer in the church of God for this mercy, then it will soon be accomplished…Spiritual waters and rivers are explained by the apostle John, to be the Holy Spirit…It is now a time of scarcity of these spiritual waters; there are, as it were, none. If God’s people, in this time of great drought, were but made sensitive of this calamity, and their own emptiness and necessity, and brought earnestly to thirst and cry for needed supplies, God would, doubtless, soon fulfill this blessed promise.”
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Have you every thought of Jesus as a gentleman?
Consider this question He asked of a Samaritan woman, “Will you give Me a drink?” (John 4:7).
As a Man, Jesus could have demanded to be served, but instead He asked her if she was willing to serve Him. He gave her dignity.
Jesus was tired and thirsty (v. 6), so He gave her an opportunity to be a blessing to Him. When Samaritans were so often overlooked or avoided or even derided by Jews, Jesus gave her a chance to help someone truly in need.
Jesus offered her living water. She was used to an angry look or a striking hand, not an offer of a blessing. He said, “I would like to bless you with living water, if you will just ask Me for it” (v. 10).
Once again, Jesus affirmed her dignity by giving her the option to take His blessing—it was right there for the asking. He didn’t force anything upon her, but allowed her to choose.
Jesus didn’t talk down to her. He didn’t demean her as a woman, a Samaritan, or a divorcée. He didn’t scold her for her religious beliefs. He treated her with love as a person of value and great worth.
Jesus is love.
Jesus is gentle.
Jesus wants to show us His favor.
And Jesus wants us to show His favor to others.
Are you treating others in this gentle, Christ-honoring way?
It’s an important question for you to ask and honestly listen to the answer from the Holy Spirit. Let’s be the kind of gentlemen and gentlewomen that represent Jesus well.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
As missionaries, we are people sent on a mission. We are sent to everyone everywhere. We are to take Him to every street where God sends us.
“Main Street” (or Jerusalem) is a great place to start, and probably a place where we will always have work to do. These will typically be the people that are most like us—people with whom we will have the most in common.
There are others that need to hear the Good news of forgiveness that Jesus has made available. As our circle of witness widens, we may have less in common with those with whom we are interacting. This may take us out of our comfort zone, but since the Holy Spirit is in us we will never be out of our empowerment zone!
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea… (Acts 1:8).
We need to ask two questions:
What did it mean then? Judea was still compromised of Jewish people, but it was the area slightly outside the neighborhood of Jerusalem.
What does it mean now? These are people very similar to people on Main Street, but we are starting to see more differences. These differences often become the source of controversies.
I’m going to describe some people in our Judea as cultural Christians but not biblical Christians. In the time of Jesus we could think of the Pharisees: People who would call themselves godly because they have set their own standards.
Lombard Street in San Francisco is a short, curvy street. This is a one-way street and motorists are only supposed to drive 5 mph, and still there are frequent controversies on the right-of-way between homeowners, motorists, work crews, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Everyone thinks their way is the right way.
How do we take the message of Jesus to those on our “Lombard Street”?
(1) Distinguish the biblical from the non-biblical.
Both the Pharisees that interacted with Jesus and today’s cultural Christians seem to quote more from their own traditions than they do from the Scripture, so we need to distinguish that the source of our beliefs is from God’s inspired Word. (I share more about the concept of biblical, unbiblical, and non-biblical in this post.)
A great example for us is how Jesus answered two questions from an expert in the Mosaic law: How do I earn eternal life? Who is my neighbor? See Luke 10:25-37.
(2) Stick to Scripture and your personal story.
Remember that the person with an experience is never at the mercy of the person with an argument. When the Sanhedrin questioned the legitimacy of the healing of a lame man, Luke wrote, “But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them [Peter and John], there was nothing they could say” (Acts 4:14)!
Love the personal story of the healed blind man in John 9!
Judea can be translated “he shall be praised.” We glorify Jesus not by arguing with those on Lombard Street, but by simply proclaiming biblical truth and our personal testimony.
Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. (1 Chronicles 16:23-24)
As we stick with the Scripture and our personal testimony, the Holy Spirit will use our witness to open minds to the Good News of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18-4:5).
Follow along with all of the streets we are looking at in our series Takin’ Him to the streets by clicking here.
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Just as assuredly as Jesus fulfilled God’s promise of His crucifixion and resurrection, we Christians are fulfilling God’s promise that we would take the message of forgiveness of sins to the whole world (Luke 24:45-48). We are taking Him to every street where God sends us. There is a song written by Michael McDonald called “Takin’ it to the streets.” One verse says—
Take this message to my brother
You will find him everywhere
Wherever people live together
Tied in poverty’s despair
We know what the “it” is. He is a Savior, a God, a Redeemer, a Father who has made it possible for everyone everywhere to be in a personal relationship with Him for all of eternity!
When anyone talks about taking the Good News of Jesus to people, our minds typically think “missionary.”
What is a missionary? What comes to mind when you think of a missionary?
Quite simply, a missionary is a person sent on a mission (see Luke 24:47; Matthew 28:19-20).
We are not sent on our mission unprepared, but Jesus promised us both His authority and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-19; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8). In both Luke and Acts, Jesus says that our witness is to begin in Jerusalem.
I recently looked up a list of the most common street names in America. I found that the most common street name is “Main Street.” But Main Street is also used as a way for people to describe the average setting in the USA.
Going to “Jerusalem” or “Main Street” first is foretold in the Old Testament (Ezekiel 3:4-5). We’re not first sent to people with an unknown language or obscure customs, but to people we know and understand. These are people to whom we can easily find common interests.
There are two simple steps when we take Jesus to our Main Street.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth to you today and every day.
You cannot give to others what you do not first have yourself, so you need to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you first. Pray before reading the Bible to ask the Spirit to give you insight (Psalm 119:18).
Find a friend and tell them what was revealed to you.
After Jesus was revealed to Andrew, he found Peter and told him what he had discovered. And after Philip met Jesus, he found Nathanael and brought him to Jesus (John 1:35-46).
Every person with whom you interact today is precious to God. Our mission is to help them realize that awesome truth.
So get filled up with the wisdom from the Spirit and then find a friend on Main Street and bring them to Jesus!
Follow along with all of the messages in this series Takin’ Him To The Streets by clicking here.
Look at the profound humility of John! His birth was foretold by an angel, his ministry was so powerful that people wondered if he was the Messiah or possibly Elijah, yet he never let all these accolades go to his head.
“I am such a lowly servant of Jesus that I don’t even have the right to take off His sandals.”
As C.S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s think of yourself less.” John was too focused on making sure people saw Jesus that he had no time to think about himself.
Jesus said John was the greatest of the prophets (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). The applause of the world means nothing. All that matters is the applause from nail-scarred hands, and the voice of the Master saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
The Gospel of John introduces John the baptizer to us like this, “He himself was not the Light; he came only as a witness to the Light” (John 1:8).
John had a similar birth announcement as Jesus had (Luke 1:11-14, 28-33)
John’s birth prompted a Holy Spirit-inspired song from his father that resonates with Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55, 68-70)
The early years of John are described in much the same terms as how Luke describes the early years of Jesus (Luke 1:80, 2:52)
John quoted Scripture and taught with very similar authority as Jesus did (Matthew 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-19)
Yet for all their similarities, John knew that he was only a herald of Jesus (John 1:19-27).
John was not the Light—he was only a witness to the Light.
I am not the Light—I am only a witness to the Light.
You may think that this statement is pretty obvious, and I did too. But as I read these words from John 1:8 again, it caused me to reevaluate just how much I really believe this.
Do I remember this when no one compliments my sermon? Do I remember this when what I thought was an insightful comment on a verse of Scripture gets hardly any “likes” on my social media channels? Do I remember this when I am complemented and my posts are appreciated?
Who exactly am I trying to make look good: me or Jesus?
I want John’s desire to become my desire and my prayer: “Jesus must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
Craig T. Owens 